Page 40 of The 13th Daughter
"That's what, Cassie Jayne?" he whispered and I shivered.
"I don't remember," I arched against him.
He smiled. His lips found mine and I got lost in the myriad of emotions that rocked through me. When he pulled away, I saw the regret in his eyes. I tried to pull him back. "Shh, love," he whispered. "Soon, but not here, not now."
Then I remembered where we were. The cemetery. Emily's grave. My face burned. What must my sister think of me? Making out with M&M not more than ten feet from her grave? She's probably rolling over laughing, I thought with a smile, and egging me on.
The pain of losing her wasn't so bad anymore, I realized with a start. Ethan had done that for me. I didn't know how, but he'd helped me get past the pain. Kay knew my pain. She'd lost her mother, but with Ethan, it was different. He just made it better somehow, made the pain easier to bear. He made me whole.
He sat up and pulled me into his lap. "I'm sorry for interrupting. I know this day is important to you and you need time alone with her, but it was my only shot at catching you by yourself."
"I wish she were here," I whispered and wrapped myself around him. "There's so much I don't understand."
"She's always with you," he said and stroked my hair. "Never doubt that."
"I'm afraid, Ethan."
"Of what?"
"Everything. You, me, the Coven."
"Why are you afraid of me?" he asked in a guarded tone.
"Because you're lying to me about something."
He went completely still. So did I.
"Cassie, trust me," he said at last. "No matter what happens, please just trust me."
"So you are lying?" I pulled away to look up at him.
"No, I'm not lying, at least not about what's important," he said finally. "There are things I can't tell you, Cassie. It would be easier if I could, but I can't."
"Things about the Coven?"
He nodded. "I can't tell you, but I promise it'll be okay. I'llmakeit be okay."
I wanted to believe him. He sounded so sincere. "I trust you."
He cupped my face. "Thank you."
"I need to get home," I sighed. "It's late and we have school tomorrow."
"I'll walk you," he offered and pulled me up.
I do trust him, I told myself firmly as we walked.I do.
Chapter Fourteen
Saturday dawned bright and clear.And cold. The thermometer read twenty-two degrees outside. For it to be cold this early was highly unusual in North Carolina. It never dropped below fifty until the middle of November, but this year the cold seemed to be setting in sooner than expected. My teeth chattered as I hopped from foot to foot on the cold tile of the bathroom floor after I stepped out of the hot shower. Why hadn't Mom or Dad turned the heat on? I glanced at my watch on the sink. It was only a little after seven. They were probably still sound asleep. Mom wouldn't crack an eye before eight on the weekends.
I had a lot to do today and I was also pretty sure I was running out of time. Dad's crazy ramblings of "you're almost eighteen" kept popping into my head. Did all of this, maybe even the curse, have something to do with my eighteenth birthday? Without Emily's Book of Shadows, I had zero chance of figuring it out. Well, almost zero. After admitting there was nowhere left to look for her book, I only had one option left. The other book. The one heavily guarded by wards and I knew zilch about wards.
I needed help.
The question was who could I trust?
Kay? I'd known her since the first day of kindergarten when Jeff had stolen my toy. Kay had pushed him down and kicked him as hard as she could. We'd been best friends since. I loved her like a sister, but every time I thought about telling her my theories, my stomach went into overdrive, twisting and heaving painfully. A warning.
